This is a great way of framing things I never thought of before, but it explains a lot.
Much this can probably be traced back to corporate policy of creating short-term, immediate profits. Making a environment where people want to hang out is putting more effort into the long game of customer retention and relationship-building, at the expense of the business investing more up front to make a place where people would enjoy hanging out.
Today, cutting costs and doing the bare minimum generates better margins and profits and looks better on the quarterly financial report, which is all the overlords really care about now. Yet another illustration of how activist investors ruin everything. A restaurant like Chipotle or Five Guys exemplify this - their food is pretty enjoyable, but the in-restaurant experience is awful. One place that bucks the trend is Culver's, which not only has great food, but is a decent place to dine in.
From a business psychology standpoint, people like status, people like community.
Going to a place which has its own unique look is a form of unique status and community because not everyone goes to Pizza Hut, they have loyalties elsewhere, so people get to belong to a tribe of fellow Pizza Hut goers.
From an artistic point of view, having corporate franchises look sanitized to be inoffensive and "globally appealing" ruined the packaging of their business. For far too long we had different corporate food chains packaged in the same box with the same colors and the same looks, only different by name alone.
I worked at PH when they rebranded to appeal to Millennials. That rebranding crash and burned. Given that PH markets to lower income demographics, they couldn't afford to flop on the rebranding, but they did. This shook them awake to realize their whole business model thrived on having people in the stores, but part of that was the atmosphere they used to have.
Pizza Hut will profit off the nostalgia for older generations, but also off younger generations where they see red in a sea of gray businesses. They get to be first movers in this corporate culture shift. Aesthetics matter because they are an outward expression of what is at the core of something.
This made me think about Wendy’s. They got a lot of flack for their attempted “surge” pricing model (for those unaware, they were going to bump prices during busier times and allegedly drop them during quieter times.)
But meanwhile I’m thinking of why don’t they just bring the Super Bar back? All you can eat salad, tacos, and pudding?
Why is it that Costco, imho, has the best pizza deal at 10$ for a large pepperoni? And the pizza is actually good?
You’re 100% right that nostalgia work seems to be about catching pieces of a much larger more immersive puzzle, when life just felt better to live and not so frustratingly complicated.
This made me think how modern fighting-game devs focus on turning their IPs into games as service when what the real fans want is just a way to recreate the arcade setting and mentality into the new era.
That brought back memories.
This is a great way of framing things I never thought of before, but it explains a lot.
Much this can probably be traced back to corporate policy of creating short-term, immediate profits. Making a environment where people want to hang out is putting more effort into the long game of customer retention and relationship-building, at the expense of the business investing more up front to make a place where people would enjoy hanging out.
Today, cutting costs and doing the bare minimum generates better margins and profits and looks better on the quarterly financial report, which is all the overlords really care about now. Yet another illustration of how activist investors ruin everything. A restaurant like Chipotle or Five Guys exemplify this - their food is pretty enjoyable, but the in-restaurant experience is awful. One place that bucks the trend is Culver's, which not only has great food, but is a decent place to dine in.
From a business psychology standpoint, people like status, people like community.
Going to a place which has its own unique look is a form of unique status and community because not everyone goes to Pizza Hut, they have loyalties elsewhere, so people get to belong to a tribe of fellow Pizza Hut goers.
From an artistic point of view, having corporate franchises look sanitized to be inoffensive and "globally appealing" ruined the packaging of their business. For far too long we had different corporate food chains packaged in the same box with the same colors and the same looks, only different by name alone.
I worked at PH when they rebranded to appeal to Millennials. That rebranding crash and burned. Given that PH markets to lower income demographics, they couldn't afford to flop on the rebranding, but they did. This shook them awake to realize their whole business model thrived on having people in the stores, but part of that was the atmosphere they used to have.
Pizza Hut will profit off the nostalgia for older generations, but also off younger generations where they see red in a sea of gray businesses. They get to be first movers in this corporate culture shift. Aesthetics matter because they are an outward expression of what is at the core of something.
This made me think about Wendy’s. They got a lot of flack for their attempted “surge” pricing model (for those unaware, they were going to bump prices during busier times and allegedly drop them during quieter times.)
But meanwhile I’m thinking of why don’t they just bring the Super Bar back? All you can eat salad, tacos, and pudding?
Why is it that Costco, imho, has the best pizza deal at 10$ for a large pepperoni? And the pizza is actually good?
You’re 100% right that nostalgia work seems to be about catching pieces of a much larger more immersive puzzle, when life just felt better to live and not so frustratingly complicated.
This made me think how modern fighting-game devs focus on turning their IPs into games as service when what the real fans want is just a way to recreate the arcade setting and mentality into the new era.